Machine for inserting tie wires into adobe blocks



Nov. 5, 1968 D. E. LARSEN 3,408,720

MACHINE FOR INSERTING TIE WIRES INTO ADOBE BLOCKS Filed May 2, 1966 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 i INVENTOR DELANO a. LARSEN ATTOR N EY ATTORNEY D. E. LARSEN 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Nov. 5, 1968 MACHINE FOR INSERTING TIE WIRES INTO ADOBE BLOCKS Filed May 2, 1966 D. E. LARSEN 3,408,720

MACHINE FOR INSERTING TIE WIRES INTO ADOBE BLOCKS Nov. 5, 1968 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed May 2, 1966 INVENTOR DELANO E LARSEN ATTORNEY NOV. 5, 1968 LARSEN 3,408,720

MACHINE FOR INSERTING TIE WIRES INTO ADOBE BLOCKS Filed May 2, 1966 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTOR DELANO E. LARSEN ATTORNEY Nov. 5, 1968 D. E. LARSEN 3,408,720

MACHINE FOR IN SERTING TIE WIRES INTO ADOBE BLOCKS Filed May 2, 1966 5 Sheets-Sheet "1 INVENTOR DELANO E. LARSEN BY 90%, QPQE ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,408,720 MACHINE FOR INSERTING TIE WIRES INTO ADOBE BLOCKS Delano E. Larsen, 3633 Christensen Lane, Castro Valley, Calif. 94546 Filed May 2, 1966, Ser. No. 546,812 8 Claims. (CI. 29-33) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A machine for forming adobe blocks having tie wires embedded therein. The tie wires are of uniform length and cut from spools of Wire prior to being bent into U-shapes for insertion into forms having semi-set concrete therein. At the time that the wires are bent and inserted into the concrete blocks suitable cutters are moved through the semi-set blocks to form the adobe blocks.

Adobe blocks are attached to reinforcing rods used in reinforced concrete structures and their purpose is to space the rods the required distance from the adjacent surfaces of the form boards in which the concrete is poured. The adobe blocks in reality are made of concrete and they are usually in the form of two inch cubes. The blocks have tie wires extending therefrom by means of which they are secured to the reinforcing rods. The tie wires are formed from a single wire that is bent into a U-shape and the base of the U is inserted by hand into the concrete block before the concrete has set.

An object of my invention is to provide a machine that will cut uniform lengths of wires from wires fed from spools and will bend these wires into U-shapes and then insert the base of the U of each wire into concrete blocks before the concrete has set. The machine can also cut the two inch cubes out of larger blocks of unset concrete at the same time the U-shaped tie wires are inserted into the blocks. The portions of concrete in which the tie wires have their U-shaped bases embedded are moistened with water so that the concrete adjacent to each wire will enclose the wire base and thus anchor it in the cube while the ends of the wire will project from the cubes.

A further object of my invention is to provide a machine of the type described that can readily be increased in size so that a large number of adobe blocks can be cut at a single time from a large mass of concrete and during the cutting operation the U-shaped tie wires can be inserted into the blocks so as to become embedded in the blocks when the concrete has set. The machine is entirely automatic in operation.

Other objects and advantages will appear as the specification continues and the novel features of the invention will be set forth in the appended claims.

For a better understanding of my invention, reference should be made to the accompanying drawings forming part of this specification, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a side elevation of the entire machine, portions being omitted where the scale of the drawing would make these portions too small to illustrate properly.

FIGURE 2 is a top plan view of FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 3 is a side elevation of the wire feeding mechanisms of the machine on a larger scale than FIGURE 1, and is looking in the direction of the arrows 3-3 of FIGURE 2.

FIGURE 4 is a side elevation similar to FIGURE 3 and is broken away in part to show the wire feeding carriage at the end of its forward wire-feeding stroke while FIG- URE 3 shows the carriage at the start of its stroke.

FIGURE 5 is an enlarged end view of the machine when looking in the direction of the arrows 5-5 of FIG- F 4 3,408,720 Ice Patented Nov. 5, 1968 URE l. The end view illustrates the wire gripping mechanism for gripping the ends of the wires after the wire feeding carriage has reached the end of its forward wirefeeding stroke.

FIGURE 6 is a view similar to FIGURE 5 and shows the wire gripping mechanism in closed position and gripping the ends of the wire while FIGURE 5 shows the wire gripping mechanism in open position.

FIGURE 7 is an enlarged transverse section taken along the line 77 of FIGURE 1 and illustrates the wire cutting mechanism which is automatically actuated to cut the wires after the wire feeding mechanism has fed predetermined lengths of wires into positions for cutting.

FIGURE 8 is a view similar to FIGURE 7 and shows the wire cutting mechanism at the end of its cutting stroke while FIGURE 7 shows the wire cutting mechanism in a position ready to cut the wires.

FIGURE 9 is an enlarged transverse section taken along the line 9-9 of FIGURE 1 and illustrates the wire bending, concrete cutting and wire inserting mechanism, the wires being forced into concrete blocks. The form for holding the semi-hard concrete is shown in section.

FIGURE 10 is a view similar to FIGURE 9 and shows the same mechanism with the concrete cutter and wire inserting portions of the mechanism at their deepest penetrations into the concrete mass while FIGURE 9 shows these same mechanisms at the beginning of their strokes.

FIGURE 11 is an isometric view of one of the adobe blocks and illustrates a tie wire embedded in the block with the two legs of the tie wire projecting from the block.

FIGURE 12 is a horizontal section through the wire bending mechanism and is taken along the line 1212 of FIGURE 9.

FIGURE 13 is a longitudinal vertical section taken along the line 1313 of FIGURE 2 and shows the wire gripping, wire bending and wire cutting mechanisms on the same scale as FIGURE 9.

FIGURE 14 is a plan view showing two positions of the concrete holding form in two views. The left hand view illustrates the concrete mass in the .form with two adobe blocks cut from the left hand portion of the concrete mass and tie wires inserted into the blocks. The right hand view illustrates the same concrete mass with the remaining two adobe blocks cut out from the right hand half of the concrete mass and tie wires inserted into these blocks.

While I have shown only the preferred form of my invention, it should be understood that various changes or modifications may be made within the scope of the annexed claims without departing from the spirit thereof.

Detailed description In carrying out my invention I will first describe the wire feeding mechanism, then the wire gripping mechanism, and this will be followed by a description of the mechanisms that cut and bend the tie wires into the shape of a U, then move a cutter into the concrete mass for forming blocks during which the U-shaped wires are inserted into the blocks. Also the last mentioned mechanism will cause a small amount of water to be injected into each concrete block when the tie wires is fully inserted into it and this will moisten the concrete adjacent to the wire for aiding in embedding the wire in the block before the concrete has set. The operation of the entire machine will then be given.

Wire feeding mechanism In FIGURES 1 and 2, I illustrate the entire machine, but because of the small scale of these figures, certain parts are not shown in detail. Each one of the different mechanisms will be illustrated in more detail and on a larger scale in other figures of the drawings. The machine comprises a main frame indicated generally at A, and this frame may be supported by legs 1 that extend downwardly from the frame as shown in FIGURE 1.

At the right hand end of the main frame A, I mount a wire spool carrying frame B, and in FIGURES 1 and 2, this frame is shown as supporting a transverse shaft 2 on which wire carrying spools 3 are rotatably mounted. The sides of the main frame A are preferably made of angle irons and these constitute tracks or rails 4-4 for supporting and guiding a wire feeding carriage indicated generally at C. The carriage is mounted on wheels 5 that in turn ride on the rails 4-4,

The carriage C is moved forwardly on the tracks for pullingwires 66 from the spools 3-3 and for feed: ing these wires to the other mechanisms, hereinafter described, that will cut, bend and insert the U-shaped bent tie wires into the adobe blocks. A hydraulic cylinder 7 and piston with its piston rod 8 are used for moving the carriage C, forwardly or to the left in FIGURE 2 into the dot-dash line position shown in FIGURES 1 and 2, and for returning it to its starting position. The right hand end of the cylinder 7 is pivotally connected to a cross member 9 that forms a part of the frame A. The piston rod 8 has its outer end connected to the right hand end of the carriage C.

FIGURES 3 and 4 show hydraulic pipes 10 and 11 leading from opposite ends of the cylinder 7 to a hydraulic valve 12 which in turn is actuated by an electric control 13. When fluid flows through the line 10, in FIGURE 4, to the right hand end of the cylinder 7, it will move the carriage C to the left for the full length of the stroke of the piston rod 8 and when the fluid flows through the line 11 in FIGURE 3 to the opposite end of the cylinder, the carriage C will be returned in its movement. The electrical switches for accomplishing this movement will be explained hereinafter.

The carriage C has means for clamping the wires 6 to it just before the carriage moves forwardly or to the left in FIGURES 1 and 3. Uprights 14-14 are mounted on the carriage and support a rockable shaft 15, see FIG- URE 2. Idler pulleys 1616 are rotatably mounted on the shaft and the wires 66 extend from the spools 33 and are passed under the pulleys. The ends of the rockable shaft 15 carry parallel arms 17-17, and the free ends of these arms have a wire-clamping bar 18, secured thereto. A plate 19 extends transversely across the front of the carriage C and underlies the wire-clamping bar 18. FIGURE 4 shows the arms 17 holding the bar 18 above the plate 19 and the wires 6 extend forwardly of the plate and are received in wire guide tubes 20. A spring 21 is connected to one of the arms 17 and to the carriage C for yieldingly urging the wire-clamping bar 18 in a downward direction from the raised position shown in FIGURE 4, into the wire-clamping position shown in FIGURE 3, where the wires 6 are clamped between the bar 18 and plate 19.

A bell-crank lever D is pivoted at 22 to one of the arms 17 and it has a cam edge 23 that contacts with the upper surface of the transverse carriage plate 19. The other end of the bell-crank lever D, carries a roller 24, see FIGURES 1 and 2 that contacts with a stop 25 on one of the rails 4 when the carriage C has been moved as far to the right as possible on the tracks by the hydraulic cylinder 7 and piston rod 8. This will swing the bell crank lever D into the position shown in FIGURES 1 and 3 where the cam edge 23 of the level will permit the spring 21 to swing the arms 17 downwardly and move the bar 18 into wire-clamping position to clamp the wires 6 between the bar and the transverse plate 19. When the bell crank D is in this position, it will permit an electric switch E, to open for a purpose hereinafter described. The switch E is mounted on the carriage C.

When the carriage C is moved to the left in FIGURES 1 and 2 from the full to the dot-dash line position, the the wire clamp 18 will have pulled a predetermined length of wire 6 from each of the spools 3 and this length when cut from the remaining wire will be suflicient to form the tie wire F, see FIGURE 11, that has its U- shaped portion embedded in the adobe block G, so that the ends or legs of the tie wire will project from the block. FIGURE 4 illustrates the carriage C in a position where a predetermined length of the wire 6 has been pulled from the spool 3 and the carriage is ready to start on its return movement. The spools 3 have friction brakes, not shown, to prevent too much wire 6 being fed out. The roller 24 on the bell crank lever D will strike a second stop 26 that is inclined at an angle so that the lever will be swung from the wire-camping position shown in FIGURE 3, into the wire-releasing position shown in FIG- URE 4.,The cam edge 23 on the lever D has a flat portion that is brought into contact with the transverse plate 19 whenthe lever is'swung in a counterclockwise direction by coming into contact with the inclined edge of the stop 26. The fiat surfaceon' the cam edge 23 will hold the arms 17 in raised position as shown in FIGURE 4 for freeing the bar 18 from the wires 6, and will prevent the spring 21 swinging the arms 17 downwardly until the roller 24 again strikesthe stop 25.

The electric switch E is closed by the swinging of the bell crank lever D and the moving of the clamping bar 18 into the position shown in FIGURE 4 and the purpose of this will be explained in the operation of the wire gripping mechanism. The bar 18 will be held out of contact with the wires 6 during the return movement of the carriage C. The portions of the wires 6 that project from the left hand ends of the wire guide tubes 20 will be held by a wire gripping mechanism so that the wires cannot be moved to the right in FIGURE 2 while the tubes 20 are moved to the right with the moving carriage on its return trip. Before describing this wire gripping mechanism it is best to state that the left hand ends of the wire guide tubes 20 are slidably received in sleeves 27. FIGURES 1 and 2 show the sleeves mounted on a transverse frame member 28 that in turn has its ends connected to upright members 29 that are angle-shaped in cross section. The lower ends of the members 29 are secured to the side rails 4 of the frame A. When the carriage C is at its extreme right hand position shown by the full lines in FIGURES 1 and '2, the left hand ends of the wire guide tubes 20 are received in the tube-supporting sleeves 27 and the ends of the wires 6 project a slight distance beyond the tube ends. As the carriage C is moved to the left in these figures, the tubes 20 will be advanced to the dot-dash line position and the ends of the wires 6 will still project a slight distance beyond the tube ends. This is due to the fact that the wires are clamped to the carriage C while the latter moves to the left. A switch U, shown in FIG- URE 9 is closed when the wire bending mechanism is in inoperative position. This switch will cause the valve 12 to direct fluid into the cylinder 7 to move the carriage C to the left when the main switch, not shown, is closed.

Wire gripping mechanism Reference to FIGURES 1, 2, 5, 6 and 13, shows the wire gripping mechanism for gripping the ends of the wires. Two cylindrical uprights 30, extend upwardly from the left hand ends of the side rails 4-4. They support a lower fixed horizontal wire gripping channel 31 and an upper vertically movable wire gripping cylindrical member 32. The channel 31 acts as a stationary jaw and it is U-shaped in cross section and has its sides extending upwardly. The ends of the wires 6 extend across the top of this channel when the carriage C has moved to its extreme left hand position in FIGURES 1 and 2. The upper cylindrical wire gripping member 32 parallels the channel-v shaped member 31 and has its ends connected to sleeves 3333 that slide vertically on the cylindrical uprights 30-30. The member 32 acts as the movable jaw for gripping the ends of the wires 6.

A hydraulic cylinder 34 is supported by a cross piece 35 which in turn has its ends connected to the tops of the cylindrical uprights 30, see FIG URES 5 and 6. The hydraulic cylinder 34 has a piston rod 36 extending downwardly and connected to the movable wire gripping cylindrical and horizontal member or jaw 32. In FIGURE 5, the piston rod 36 has lifted the movable wire gripping member 32 into its raised position. The ends of the two Wires 6 are shown lying above the stationary wire gripping channel or jaw 31. When the carriage C reaches the end of its forward wire feeding movement, the guide wire tubes 20 will have advanced the wires 6- so that the ends of the wires that project beyond the tube ends will be positioned to overlie the stationary wire gripping channel or jaw 31, see the dot-dash line position in FIGURE 1.

At the moment the carriage C reaches its forward position the bell crank D will be swung into its wire release position as shown in FIGURE 4, by the second stop 26 and will close the switch E. This will close an electric circuit to a solenoid 37, see FIGURES 1, 5 and 6, that will be energized and actuate a hydraulic valve 38 for causing fluid to flow into the top of the cylinder 34 and move the piston, not shown, and piston rod 36, downwardly. This will move the wire gripping member or jaw 32 downwardly for gripping the ends of the wires 6-6 between it and the stationary channel or jaw 31, see FIG- URE 6.

Also at the completion of the downward movement of the wire gripping member 32, it will close an electric switch H, in FIGURE 6. The switch is carried by the wire gripping channel 31, as is shown in FIGURE 5. The closing of the switch H will cause the electric control 13, shown in FIGURES l to 4 inclusive, to actuate the valve 12 for causing fluid to enter the left hand end of the cylinder 7, by means of the pipe 11, and move the piston rod 8 to the right in FIGURE 1 and return the carriage C to its starting position. The wire guide tubes 20 will be moved ot the right and the ends of the wires 6-6 will be gripped so that a predetermined length of wire will be exposed beyond the ends of the tubes. It is this length of wire that will be severed from the remaining wire 6 and will be bent into a U-shape and inserted in the adobe block G and become the tie wire F for the adobe block. The wire cutting mechanism will now be described.

Wire cutting mechanism The wire cutting mechanism is shown in FIGURES l, 2, 7, 8 and 13. The angle-shared uprights 2929 are supported by the side rails 44 and carry the transverse frame member 28. The sleeve 27 extend through the frame member 28 and slidably receive the wire guiding and feeding tubes 20. Any type of wire cutting mechanism may be used. I have shown one in detail in FIGURES 7 and 8.

Arcuate-shaped knives 39-39 are pivotally mounted at 4040 on the transverse frame member 28. An L-shaped link 40' is pivotally connected to the tops of the knives 3939 at 41-41. An electric solenoid 32 is carried by one of the uprights 29 and it has an armature 43 that is connected to the link 40 by a spring-biased link 42. A coil spring 43 has one end connected to the link 40 and its other end connected to a bracket 44 that in turn is supported by the adjacent frame upright 29.

FIGURE 7 shows the knives 39 in inoperative position with their cutting edges 39a39a disposed adjacent to the ends of the sleeves 27. When the solenoid 42 is energized by the closing of an electric switch L, hereinafter described, the armature 43 is retracted into the position shown in FIGURE 8. The movement of the armature 43 will move the link 42 and cause the L-shaped link 40' to swing the knives 39 about their pivots 40 in a counterclockwise direction. This rotational movement of the knives about their pivots 40 will cause the cutting edges 39a of the knives to move through the wires 6 for cutting them. The coil spring 43' will be tensioned during this movement and the switch L for closing the circuit to the solenoid 42 is only momentarily closed and therefore the spring will immediately return the knives 6 39 back to their normal position shown in FIGURE 7. The electric switch L for closing the circuit to energize the knife operating solenoid 42. is placed in the mechanism for bending the wires 6 into the tie wires F and for inserting the tie wires into the adobe blocks G so that the ends of the wires will project from the blocks. This mechanism will now be described.

Wire bending mechanism and for inserting U-shaped tie wires into adobe blocks In FIGURES l, 2, 9, l0, l2 and 13, I illustrate a mechanism for bending the wires 6 into U-shaped tie wires F at the time the wires have predetermined lengths cut from them by the knives 39 of the wire-cutting mechanism. This same mechanism will then insert the U-shaped portions of the tie wires into the adobe blocks G. A pair of cylindrical uprights 44-44 extend upwardly from the side rails 4 as shown in detail in FIGURES 9 and 10. An angle iron 45 extends across the tops of the uprights. A wire bending carriage J, comprises a cross member 46 that has its ends connected to sleeves 47 that are slidably mounted on the cylindrical uprights 44. A hydraulic cylinder 48 is suspended from the center of the angle iron cross piece 45 and it has a piston rod 49 projecting from its lower end and connected to the cross piece 46 at 50.

Two wire bending fingersSl depend from the cross piece 46 and they have V-shaped notches 51a in their lower ends that engage with the wires 66, see FIGURES 9 and 10. In FIGURE 1 the wire bending fingers 51 are placed midway between theends of the wires 6 that are gripped by the wire gripping mechanism including the members 31 and 32, and the points where the knives 39 will cut the wires at the time the cut wires are bent into the tie wires F. When the Wire feeding carriage C returns to its starting position, see FIGURES l and 2, it will close an electric switch K and this switch is mounted on the track 4 of the frame A. The closing of this switch K will cause an electric current to flow through an electric control 52 for actuating a hydraulic valve 53 and direct hydraulic fluid under pressure into the upper end of the cylinder 48 for moving the piston rod 49 downwardly and causing the cross member 46 of the wire bending carriage J to move downwardly and move the fingers 51 downwardly for bending the Wires As the member 46 starts on its downward movement in FIGURE 9, the left hand sleeve 47 will momentarily close the electric switch L by contacting with a switch arm 54 that is carried by a strap 55 whose ends are secured to upper and lower sleeves 56 and 57 that slide on the left hand cylindrical upright 44 shown in this figure. These sleeves 56 and 57 and strap 55 cooperate with duplicate sleeves 56a and 57a that slide on the right hand cylindrical upright 44 and are interconnected by a strap 55a. The sleeves and straps form parts of a concrete cutter carriage that will be described later.

The electric switch L is momentarily closed on the downstroke of the wire bending carriage J as the sleeve 47 passes the switch arm 54 and actuates it. On the upstroke of the carriage J, the sleeve will actuate the switch arm 54 again in the opposite direction but this time it will not close the switch. The momentary closing of the switch L, on the downstroke of the carriage I will cause the knives 39 to cut the wires 6 as already described. When the carriage C returns to its starting position, the stop 25 will swing the bell-crank lever in a clockwise direction and permit the switch E to open. This will permit the solenoid 37 to deenergize and to actuate the valve 38 for causing hydraulic fluid to enter the bottom of the cylinder 34 and lift the piston rod 36 for moving the member 32 away from the stationary member 31 and free the ends of the wires 6 from the wire gripping mechanism including these members 31 and 32. Therefore both ends of the wire portions 6, cut from the remaining lengths of wires, will be freed so that the wire bending fingers 51 can bend these cut portions into the U-shaped tie wires The concrete cutting mechanism includes a concrete cutting carriage indicated generally at M in FIGURES 9,, and 12. The details shown in these figures and in FIG- URE 14 illustrate that the concrete cutting carriage M includes the sleeves 56 and 56a connected to the sleeves 57 and 5711 by the straps and "55a. A cross member 58 interconnects the lower sleeves 57 and 57a of the carriage M and the member in turn has a concrete cutter N connected thereto by depending arms 59. The concrete cutter N is T-shaped in cross section and has a transversely extending blade and a longitudinally extending blade'61 that has one end abutting the middle of the transverse blade) The concrete cutting carriage M is moved downwardly by the wire bending carriage I after the latter hasmov'ed a predetermined distance along the cylindrical uprights 44 to a point where the sleeves 4747 of the carriage J, strike the sleeves 57 and 57a of the carriage M. This downward movement of the wire bending carriage J is sufiicient to cause the fingers 51-51 to force the centers of the cut wires 66 through slots 62 in a wire bending die 63, see FIGURE 12. The die extends transversely across the main frame A and has legs 64 that support the die above the sides 4-4 of the frame." The slots 62 have a shape to receive the wire bending fingers 51 and the slots also have central recesses 62a on opposite sides thereof, see also FIGURE 13, for receiving the wires 6 as the latter are bent by the downward movement of the fingers 51 through the slots. These die slot recesses 62a hold the wire portions close to the opposite faces of the fingers 51 for forming the cut wires 6 into the U-shaped tie wires F as the fingers push the wires downwardly through the die slot recesses. After the fingers 51-51 have pushed the central portions of the wires 6 through the die slot recesses 62: a predetermined distance, the wire bending carriage J strikes the concrete cutting carriage M and moves it downwardly so as to force the concrete cutter N intoa mass of concrete that is carried in a form P, see FIGURES- 1 and 14. It is best now to describe one type of means for moving the concrete carrying forms P into registration with the concrete cutter N so that the downward movement of the cutter will form the adobe blocks G.

Concrete form moving means In FIGURE 1, an endless belt Qis shown diagrammatically and this belt supports the concrete carrying forms P. The forms are spaced apart and transverse cleats 66 are carried by the endless belt and move the forms P when the belt is moved. Each form P is box-like in shape with an open top and holds suflicientconcrete 65 to make four adobe blocks G. The upper reach of the endless belt Q is indicated in FIGURE 1 and the belt is intermittently moved from right to left by a mechanism, not shown.

movement of th fyvire a The fofrifs" P' are emanates? parallel to th e side tracks toft'he ame. W

J 'URE -'1"" h6w f;,pne r theTQrms' P dispO'sed diree l' iind er til concrete cu't t'e'r' Nso'thafi the cutter will have 1ts tfansverseblade dispbs'ed above the center of tBQ CbmFeteHHass 65 'in'the reun ting jave iano grdisposed midway between the's l des jot 'ncrete '?'cut'ter" N is" 't he'n moved '1 the -dov'vh eiiding' e ari iage r; tae sen n mo'tio 'nless" and the cutterwill 'form left Haii'dpor'tipnbf the e ten a n-view? of "FIG cutter N i is their r f s'ed the "upward "be ding carria ge flaiid theinte'r as, not shown,

er tlie frame A and URE 14." Th

8 9 7 j V v a distance sufficient e ra i 1 ds is. ew 9 3 r of the "ri lit"hanwma ll fjf form P and causenll longitudinal bl'ade"61 to'cut the 'rlght 'hand ma s of concrete 65'irito two' additional adbb'e blocks G,

. Thebelt Qis moved througha greater distance'to bring mechanism" for bending'the fwires 6lintb f the tie wi res 3 Fahdforl iisertihg these tie'fwires'fjntpi the adobe blocks hand end of this'form will register under"the "concrete It is j owbest" tq rettirn 'to furthe descr ption of the G; cut by the cutter N fromthe mass 65'lof"concrete ;i;r'1 the form P. The predetermined cut leng'thsof wires 6 are partially forced through the die recesses 62a by the fingers 51, see FIGURE 12, before the concrete cutter N starts on its downward movement for cutting the concrete mass 65. The cutter carriage M is moved downwardly by the wire bending carriage I when the sleeves 47 of the latter carriage strike the sleeves 57 and 57a of the concrete cutter carriage. The mid-portions of the cut wires 6 have been moved about half the height of the concrete cutter blades 60 and 61 before the carriage J starts to move the carriage M. Therefore the cut wires 6 have had their mid-portions formed into a U and this U-bend in the wires is forced into the concrete mass 65 just as the blades 60 and 61 of the cutter N are being forced into the concrete for forming the adobe blocks G.

FIGURE 10 shows the completion of the downward movement of the cutter N and the fingers 51. Note that the fingers have forced the U-bend of the cut wires 6 into the centers of the adobe blocks and the die recesses 62a, see FIGURE 13, hold the ends of the wires adjacent to the opposite faces of the fingers. The concrete mass 65 in the form P has not set and this permits the fingers 51 to penetrate the concrete and force the tie wires F into the adobe blocks. I have found it advisable to inject a small quantity of water into the interior of the adobe blocks and adjacent to the U-shaped portions of the tie wires F when the cutter N reaches the bottom of the form P.

Water injecting mechanism The water injecting mechanism is illustrated in FIG- URES 9 and 10. A water valve R is mounted on the cross frame member 45 that in turn connects the tops of the cylindrical uprights 44. An electric solenoid 67 when energized will open the water valve R and permit water to flow from a water inlet pipe 68 to a flexible hose 69. The hose 69 communicates with two Water injection tubes 70 that extend along the wire bending fingers 51 and br t l i t 9 have their outlets disposed near to the lower ends of the fingers.

During the downward movement of the fingers 51 into the centers of the adobe blocks G being cut by the concrete cutter N, the tubes 70 will also have their outlet ends forced into the blocks so as to be positioned near to the U-shaped portions of the tie wires F and a short distance above these portions when the tie wires are fully inserted into the blocks. The cross member 46 of the wire bending carriage J, has an electric switch S that is closed when the carriage reaches the bottom of its downward stroke. The circuit closing button 71 of the switch S is disposed out of the plane of the cross piece 58 of the concrete cutter carriage M and therefore the switch will not be closed when the sleeves 47 of the wire bending carriage J strike the sleeves 57 and 57a of the concrete cutting carriage M. It is only when both carriages reach the bottoms of their strokes that the button 71 of the switch S will strike the top of the die 63, see FIGURE 10, and close the switch for causing an electric current to actuate the solenoid 67 and open the water valve R so that a small quantity of water can be ejected from the water tubes 70 and into the interiors of the adobe blocks G and just above the U- bends in the tie wires F. This will moisten the concrete adjacent to the wires and permit the concrete to form around the tie wires as the fingers 51 are lifted from the blocks. The switch S only remains closed while the carriage J is at the bottom of its stroke.

The carriage I is immediately started on its upward stroke as soon as it has moved the U-portions of the tie wires F into the adobe blocks. This is accomplished by an electric switch T, that is carried by the Wire bending die 63, see FIGURES 9 and 10. The push button 72 extends upwardly from the switch T and is depressed for closing the switch when a projection 73 on the cross member 46 of the carriage is brought into contact with the button as the carriage reaches the bottom of its stroke. An electric current is closed to the electric con trol 52 for the hydraulic valve 53 and will cause the valve to direct fluid into the bottom of the cylinder 48 for raising the piston rod 49 and lifting the carriage J. As the carriage moves upwardly, the cross member 46 will lift and carry with it the switch S. The switch will immediately open and cut off the current to the solenoid 67 and permit it to close the water valve R. Water is now stopped from flowing into the hose 69.

The carriage I will move upwardly a predetermined distance before the sleeves 47 of the carriage strike the upper sleeves 56 and 56a of the concrete cutting carriage M. Therefore the cutter N will remain in the form P until the fingers 51 lift clear of the adobe blocks that have just been formed. The water moistened concrete adjacent to the embedded tie wires F will form around them and secure the wires in place when the concrete sets. The Withdrawal of the fingers 51 during this lifting operation will not bring the tie wires F with them. After the fingers are clear of the adobe blocks then the carriage I will lift the carriage M and remove the concrete cutter N from the form P. When the cross member 46 reaches the top of its stroke, the projection 73 will strike a button 74 on an electric switchU to close the switch. The switch is carried by a depending arm 75 that is connected to the cross member 45.

The closing of the switch U, closes an electric current to the electrical control 13 for the hydraulic valve 12. The valve will cause fluid to enter the right hand end of the cylinder 7 and move the carriage C to the left which starts the next cycle of the machine to cut and form additional tie wires F and insert these in adobe blocks G cut by the concrete cutter N. Before the valve 12 causes the piston rod 8 to move to the left in FIGURES 1 and 2 to start the next cycle, a switch, not shown, will have caused the intermittent belt driving mechanism to advance the belt Q a distance sufiicient to bring the next form P into proper position with respect to the concrete cutter N for permitting the cutter to form two additional adobe blocks G.

Operation The entire operation of the machine will now be briefly stated. The carriage C when moved to the left in FIG- URES 1 and 2 will feed lengths of wires 6 from the spools or drums 3. The drawings show two spools. It is possible to have far more than two spools. In fact the machine could have twenty spools, not shown, for forming twenty tie wires F instead of two. In this case the endless belt with the concrete holding forms P would be made wider so that twenty (more or less) adobe blocks could be cut from the concrete mass for each stroke of the concrete cutting knives.

The wire clamping bar 18 is held in wire clamping position during the movement of the carriage C to the left in FIGURES 1 and 2. This will clamp the wires 6 to the carriage and feed the predetermined lengths of the wires to the wire gripping mechanism where the ends'of the wires may be gripped before the carriage C starts on its return stroke. The ends of the wires 6 are gripped between the wire gripping channel 31 and the vertically movable wire gripping member 32 after the latter has been moved downwardly. This is accomplished by the 'bell crank lever D being actuated by the stop 26 when the carriage C reaches the end of its wire feeding stroke. The clamping bar 18 is moved upwardly and frees the wires 6 from the carriage and closes the switch E for causing the hydraulic cylinder 34 and rod 36 to move the wire gripping member 32 downwardly to grip the free ends of the wires 6. The downward movement of the member 32 will also close the switch H and start the return movement of the carriage C to its starting point.

When the carriage C reaches its starting position, it will close the switch K and cause the hydraulic cylinder 48 and rod 49 to move the wire bending carriage I downwardly. The carriage J carries the wire bending fingers 51 and moves them downwardly for forcing the centers of the wires 6 into the slot recesses 62a in the die 63. At the initial downward movement of the carriage J, the electric switch L is closed for energizing the solenoid 42 and causing the knives 39 to cut portions from the wires 6 that are to be bent into the tie wires F. After the wire bending carriage J has moved downwardly through a portion of its stroke it will contact with the concrete cutting carriage M and move it downwardly. The concrete cutter N will be forced into the concrete in the form P and will cut blocks G out of the concrete. At the same time the fingers 51 will force the bent tie wires F into the centers of the blocks.

When the wire bending carriage J reaches the bottom of its stroke, it will close the switch S that will open the water valve R and the tubes will inject water into the interiors of the cut blocks G. Also when the carriage I is at the bottom of its stroke, it will close the switch T that will cause the hydraulic cylinder 48 and piston rod 49 to move the carriage upwardly and lift the concrete cutting carriage M, with it. As soon as the carriage I starts moving upwardly the water switch S is opened and this will stop the further flow of water. When the carriage reaches the top of its stroke it Will close the switch U that will cause the hydraulic cylinder 7 and rod 8 to move the carriage C and start it on its next wire-feeding stroke. This completes the operation of one cycle of the machine and starts the next cycle. The machine will continue to operate automatically until the main switch, not shown, is opened.

I claim:

1. A machine for making adobe blocks having tie wires embedded therein comprising an elongated support, a plurality of wire feeding spools mounted on said support, a carriage positioned on said support for reciprocatory movement thereon towards and away from said spools, clamping means on said carriage for engaging said who to facilitate its withdrawal from said "spools upon the movement of said "carriage, wire gripping means mounted on said support for receiving the wires advanced by saidcarr'iage, wire bending means "mounted on said support between said carriage and wire gripping means, said bending means including a plurality of wire bending members arranged to move in a plane normal to the path of movement of said wires and carriage, an endless conveyor positioned subjacent said support for receiving a plurality of block forms having semi-set concrete therein, said concrete block forms being arranged in spaced relation on said conveyor for movement in a plane parallel to the plane of movement of said wires, said wire bending members in their path of movement engaging said wires intermediate their ends and bending said wires and then forcing them into said concrete block forms, cutting means actuated by the movement of said wire bending means for cutting said blocks of concrete to form adobe blocks and means to effect the withdrawal of said wire bending members and cutting means from said concrete block forms.

2. A machine for making adobe blocks having tie wires embedded therein as set forth in claim 1, wherein said support has a pair of spaced stops positioned thereon and said carriage has a pivotally mounted member thereon engageable with one of said stops for moving said clamping means into a wire clamping position and engageable with the other top for moving said clamping means into a wire releasing position.

3. A machine for making adobe blocks having tie wires embedded therein as set forth in claim 1, wherein wire cutting means are mounted on said support inter mediate said wire bending means and said carriage for cutting said wires prior to the bending of them.

4. A machine for making adobe blocks having tie wires embedded therein as set forth in claim 1, wherein said wire bending means includes a die for each wire bending member to receive said wires and effect their bending as the wire bending members move into and through said dies.

A' machine for making adobe blocks having tie wires embedded therein as set forth in claim 1, wherein said wire bending means includes, a reciprocating carriage having the, wire bending members and a plurality of fluid conduitsmountedthereon with said conduits being positioned adjacent said: wire bending members for insertion into said concrete forms to deliver fluid to the area of the concrete surrounding said bent wires.

6. A machine for making adobe blocks having tie Wires embedded therein as set forth in claim I, wherein said support has a pair of upright members afiixed thereto for supporting a reciprocatory carriage mounted on said upright members for carrying the cutting means for said semi-set concrete, said first carriage engaging said second carriage for moving said wire bending member and cutting means into engagement with said concrete.

7. A machine for making adobe blocks having tie wires embedded therein as set forth in claim 1, wherein fluid pressure means are mounted on said support and connected to said carriage for moving said carriage in timed sequence to the movement of said wire gripping means and wire bending means.

8. A machine for making adobe blocks having tie wires embedded therein as set forth in claim 6, wherein fluid pressure means are supported by said uprights and connected to said first reciprocatory carriage for moving said first and second reciprocatory carriages on said uprights.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,215,066 9/1940 Clark 18-5 2,282,328 5/1942 Herrick et al. 18-5 XR 2,578,449 12/1951 Pinney 18-27 3,142,105 7/1964 Weir et al. 25-2 3,151,359 10/1964 Campbell et al 18-5 XR 3,164,861 1/1965 Munroe et al. 18-5 3,344,492 10/ 1967 Eggeling et al. 25-2 WILLIAM J. STEPHENSON, Primary Examiner. 

